Verb potential form

[Potential Form - Ability/Possibility]

Connection: Verb potential form

The potential form expresses ability ("can do") or possibility ("able to do"). It is one of the most important verb conjugations in Japanese.

Conjugation Table:

| Verb Group | Rule | Examples | |------------|------|----------| | Group 1 (五段) | Change u-sound → eru | 書く → 書ける (can write)<br>読む → 読める (can read)<br>話す → 話せる (can speak)<br>泳ぐ → 泳げる (can swim)<br>待つ → 待てる (can wait)<br>買う → 買える (can buy) | | Group 2 (一段) | Change る → られる | 食べる → 食べられる (can eat)<br>見る → 見られる (can see)<br>Colloquial: 食べれる, 見れる (ら抜き) | | Irregular | Memorize | する → できる (can do)<br>くる → こられる (can come)<br>Colloquial: これる |

Important Notes:

• Object particle changes from を to が: 日本語が話せる (can speak Japanese)
• Potential forms conjugate as Group 2 verbs
• The colloquial ら抜き forms (食べれる, 見れる, これる) are common in spoken Japanese but considered non-standard

Examples: 日本語が話せますか。(Can you speak Japanese?) 今日は早く帰れます。(I can go home early today.) 彼は泳げないから、海に行きたくない。(He can't swim, so he doesn't want to go to the ocean.)